By and By
by eternalglitch
Summary: Life returns to normal. But what, exactly, is normal, now that humans and monsters are once again living together side by side? Frisk and Sans both grow to realize that maybe, things after the last RESET can't go so smoothly after all... and what about those left behind? Sequel to Over and Over. Indefinite Hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

Frisk could feel the stares drilling into their back and making their skin crawl. They shifted, uncomfortable, and their red SOUL pulsed rapidly in front of their chest, identical to a heartbeat.

Frisk was used to seeing their SOUL by now; everyone who had traveled through the Underground thought it was normal. It was a common occurrence, a regularity, a side effect of the magic that filled both monster's SOULS and the very air of the Underground for reasons that Frisk didn't quite understand.

But humans did not have magic.

None of them... except for Frisk, the lone human who had survived the trip to the Underground.

Frisk had tried saying it wasn't magic per say- it was just their SOUL, nothing more and nothing less. And when that hadn't worked, Frisk had tried to hide it.

That hadn't worked out as well as Frisk had hoped.

Frisk covered their SOUL with one hand, self conscious, and told themself that they should be used to this; they should know better by now. Three months on the surface, and already they had realized with a sinking feeling something that they hadn't wanted to admit to themself.

They missed the RESETS.

No, that wasn't quite right. They didn't- didn't _miss_ the long, lonely walks, the long days of solitude and of fear. They didn't miss being trapped and used.

What they missed was knowing what would come. What would happen next. And knowing, that if they somehow messed up, it would be okay. They could fix everything- even things they had once thought impossible. Sans was fine after all, wasn't he?

"Hey… isn't that…?" A voice murmured, and Frisk jerked their head up, scanning their surroundings quickly. Humans made them nervous, too. Frisk hadn't exactly _forgotten_ what had happened prior to their journey Underground, after all.

"Yeah, I'm sure of it. It's the monster's human ambassador. The little kid."

"Huh. They're smaller than I thought. You don't think the rumors about them are true... do you?"

"Which ones? There are a lot."

"Y'know, y'know! The rumors that they're a changeling or something. Like, a monster just pretending to be a child so the monsters look harmless and friendly. I mean, they don't even talk, right? For all we know, the lot of those monsters could eat _humans_ or something..."

Frisk felt their SOUL pulse in response to their sudden shift of emotions and they sped up, walking faster. They didn't want to hear this. It had only been a few months since humans realized monsters were real, but Frisk had thought people's feeling would change faster about the monsters than this. Frisk had accepted monsters within a few days, after all, in their first RESET alone... why couldn't everyone else?

Worse, Frisk realized that the Surface made them nervous. They had known, of course, getting used to the Surface would be hard for them just as it would be for everyone else, but they hadn't realized just what the RESETS had done to them.

They had been gone for nearly three years, trapped in that repeating loop. And during that time, Frisk hadn't seen any humans other than Chara, who wasn't exactly the best reflection of humanity themself. And now that their SOUL still came out of their body whenever they were feeling strong emotions…?

Frisk knew they belonged more with the monsters than the humans.

But it was their duty now to bridge the gap between humans and monsters so… so why did Frisk feel so hopeless about it?

"hey, kiddo!" A familiar voice called. The humans' voices faded to distant background noise, receding from Frisk's concentration, as a familiar skeleton drove up to Frisk in a moped. Frisk's SOUL vanished back into their body, and they let out a breath of relief. Sans slowed down, grinning down at Frisk and winking. "c'mon, frisk, we don't want to be late to dinner again. this time should be the first time paps' food is actually _edible_ , and you don't want to miss that event."

(Miss it? Me? I'd never,) signed Frisk with a small smile. They hopped up onto the moped behind Sans, grabbing hold of his hoodie.

Sans glanced back at them and smirked. "throw me a bone and don't tell tori i let you ride without a helmet, okay kid?"

Frisk, their hands unavailable, squinted back at Sans and stuck out their tongue. Sans chuckled, and the moped sped up with a whirring sound, the wind snatching at Frisk's hair.

Despite the promise of the pleasant evening and weather, however, Frisk couldn't help but glance back.

 _Monster's child._

.

The child gazed at the figure wreathed in shadows, curious as the monster skimmed another line of the white coding of the Underground.

"Chara!" A voice called in the distance, and the child twitched, red eyes widening as their head swiveled to see if they had been caught. Not yet.

Chara glanced back and frowned. Gaster was no longer there. Where had he…?

 _[What are you doing?]_ Gaster asked from behind Chara, his voice flat.

Chara jerked startled, and then grinned up at Gaster, blatantly unashamed of their presence. **"What?"** Chara repeated. **"I was just curious."**

 _[Hmmmm.]_ Gaster's eyes narrowed, his form swirling and shifting in and out of view. _[I'm sure. You've never done anything wrong, is that it?]_

Chara shrugged.

"Chara!" Flowey popped up besides them, and Gaster scowled, crossing his arms.

 _[I've told you two many times-]_

 **"Don't come into your lab, we know, we know."** Chara rolled their eyes. **"Technically it's Alphys' old lab though, and I never heard her tell you that you could be in here."**

Gaster's eyes narrowed. _[This is_ my _lab.]_

"Chara, you ran off again! I thought you said you'd stop doing that, it's not fair you can go through walls now," Flowey grumbled.

Chara's eyes narrowed as they glared up at Gaster defiantly for a moment longer before they spun on their heel and stalked back out. **"All right, then, Asriel. Let's go."**

Chara didn't look back, and the flower hesitated for one moment, glancing up at Gaster wearily before following Chara out.

Chara watched out of the corner of their eye before they shrugged. Their sibling still hadn't gotten used to the strange existences of Chara and Gaster. Because Flowey had both experienced RESETS and gained a lot of LOVE, he could see both Gaster and Chara when they wished. But for Flowey, Chara was an expected entity and Gaster... Gaster was quite the shock for the flower.

It wasn't that Chara and Gaster got along, either; since meeting two months ago, Chara was instead intrigued to find someone worthy of fighting once again. It had started fairly harmless- and by that, Chara entirely meant that they might have possibly tried to kill Gaster with the pure force of their DETERMINATION, something which the skeleton had not appreciated. ( _[I was in the middle of working,]_ he had grumbled, tossing them outside. Chara was back the very next day, attempting to come up with creative ways to get their ethereal hands on a very pointy knife.)

Since then, Chara constantly returned to bother the scientist. They didn't have anything better to do; not many monsters had stayed behind in the Underground, and Chara was invisible to almost all of them no matter what they tried.

Asriel wasn't the worst companion, Chara noted. It was just Chara missed Frisk and their stubborn kindness. Even more importantly, Chara missed the power Frisk had given them. The feeling of holding a knife, of being covered in dust and being filled with a terrific joy and anger, of knowing how _powerful_ Chara was…

Frisk wasn't here anymore, though, and there was no point in moping. Chara had moped enough in the many, many years of solitude they had been left to wallow in after they first died.

Chara didn't think they'd ever meet Frisk again, anyways. Whenever the human returned to go pester Gaster or whatever, Flowey and Chara both vanished so they wouldn't have to deal with them. Sans was always trailing behind in the human's shadow and looking ready to attack anything that moved, especially when he sulked outside of Gaster's room during Frisk's visits. (Chara had went to look once after Asriel told them and knew that the skeleton was indeed sulking.)

And besides, it wasn't like any other humans with LOVE points came down to the Underground every day…

.

Frisk squirmed uncomfortably in their bed, rolling over one way and then the other. They missed the sofa in Sans' and Papyrus' house. Toriel's house was nice, too, of course, but Frisk didn't like sleeping alone.

Opening their eyes and fumbling for the lamp as their stomach growled, Frisk squinted in the light as they made out the shape of a piece of pie lying innocently in the center of the floor.

Frisk's stomach growled again and they slipped out of bed and got up, carefully tiptoeing over the cold floor with their bare feet. They picked up the pie and inspected it carefully, squinting their eyes to see better in the darkness. A little while after Frisk had settled into their new home, Toriel had started experimenting with different types of pie to see if they liked additional flavors. When Frisk had discovered what a snail pie tasted like, the unpleasant surprise made them a lot more wary of the midnight snacks that they sometimes found left in their room.

Assured that the pie was their favorite, butterscotch and cinnamon, Frisk didn't bother looking for utensils and instead started eating it with their fingers. They walked over to their window, pulling aside the curtains with one hand as they munched on the pastry.

The moonlight cast the room in a soft silver hue, and Frisk relaxed as they watched the few clouds drifting serenely across the moon. Moonlight always seemed to help to calm them down when they were having trouble sleeping.

They would have preferred keeping the curtains open in their room all the time, but Toriel kept forgetting and closing them anyways. She thought Frisk had a fear of the dark by now (three out of the five nights Frisk stayed at her house during the week they crawled into her bed and curled up next to her until the nightmares went away) and had thoughtfully bought a small nightlight to plug into Frisk's wall, but that wasn't the issue. Not really.

Sure, Frisk wasn't a fan of dark places, but it wasn't one of their phobias. They were afraid of waking up and seeing golden flowers again, of hands coated in dust and a haunting smile with a voice that giggled once in awhile. They were afraid to be laughed at and told that it was all a dream and that the nightmare wasn't over. They were afraid everyone once again looked at them in fear and disgust and hands that used to reach for them never came. They were afraid of humans, their smiles taunting, telling Frisk to wait on the mountain for a little bit but never coming back.

 _"I'm sorry... I just wasn't ready for the responsibility..."_

Yes. There were many things Frisk was afraid of… but darkness wasn't one of them.

Frisk also had trouble making friends on the surface. They hadn't noticed until recently that, although Frisk had a body of a nine-year-old (they had just had a birthday two months ago), Frisk wasn't acting nine at all. They had the years of a twelve-year-old and the harrowing experience to make them seem that much older. It hadn't crossed Frisk's mind that this difference would show so acutely to other human children.

Humans also treated children differently than monsters did. The officials Frisk met with to try and help monsters gain an equal standing looked down on them because of their appearance; their lips twitched when Frisk used Sans or Papyrus as a translator, like it wasn't even Frisk speaking at all but just one of the adult monsters. Frisk wasn't some kind of decoration, a pity mascot for the monsters. They _knew_ they weren't. They… they hoped they weren't.

And it all circled back to their greatest and worst fear: that Frisk wasn't good enough. Like some insidious cycle of emotions that repeated themselves over and over and over just like Frisk's fears had done in that repeating cycle in the Underground in what felt like just yesterday…

Frisk climbed back into bed, placing the now-empty plate back onto the floor.

They left the curtains open, though, their hair almost appearing silver in the moonlight as they closed their eyes and went back to sleep.

.

.

.

((The story continues... It'll be a small wait for next chapter though (probably next weekend) since I have lots of tests and my other fanfic to try and update. Until next time!))


	2. Chapter 2

"Monsters should not be allowed to use any sort of their dangerous energy outside of that mountain!" The adult thundered.

Frisk's hand wandered up to their chest, and they were relieved to find their SOUL still inside their body as the adult kept prattling on about the risk of having "creatures with unknown energy running about unchecked."

They glanced over at Sans, whose arms were crossed and his expression vaguely annoyed to those who knew him well enough to see past his smile. Asgore and Toriel were on their other side, the two exchanging uneasy glances. For once, the two weren't arguing and were actually agreeing on something.

"I've tried explaining to you, us monsters can't help it," Asgore tried again. "It's part of our nature to use magic. Our entire bodies are powered by it, and it's also cemented into our reflexes to use magic for daily life activities. It isn't possible for monsters to just turn that off-"

"Oh really?" The man sneered. Frisk frowned. They didn't like this human. They couldn't remember his name, but he reminded them of an ugly ox so they decided just to call him Ox Head. "Are you positive you're not just using that as an excuse to keep this power to yourselves? Your little human can use magic just fine, from the looks of it!" Ox Head leaned across the table, stabbing a finger in Frisk's direction, and they looked down to see their SOUL pulsing against their chest.

Frisk flinched as the other four adult human's gazes all instantly zoomed in on them.

(I can't help it,) they signed at Sans, looking at him hopelessly. (I'm sorry…)

Sans shrugged. (don't worry 'bout it. they're just trying to be difficult, that's politics for ya,) he signed back.

Sans used the bare minimum of Wing Dings whenever possible. Frisk knew he detested it because of who created the monster's sign language, but he was kind enough to use it so he could talk to Frisk even during these meetings.

"And? What does your little ambassador have to say about this?" Ox Head asked snidely.

"they said it's not the same thing," Sans said, resting his elbows on the table and closing one eye. "frisk doesn't have magic; all of you humans have those souls. frisk just has theirs come out of their body once in awhile, nothing to raise a fuss over. we've covered this already."

Frisk peered at him uneasily. It was his _left_ eye he shut, they realized. Sans was mad… that was rare.

"Well, if that's the case, why don't we simply make any of the unsanctioned external use of this… magic of yours illegal?" A woman asked, leaning forwards. She looked somewhat nicer, with black curly hair and glasses. A notebook with scribbled writing lay open in front of her.

"External magic is pretty vague," Toriel said warily. "Many of us count on our abilities for every day life-"

"If the lot of you want to come and invade _our_ home, then you'll have to make some small sacrifices." Another man spoke up, tapping his pen against the desk. "Making monsters accountable for any usage of this energy, magic, or whatever you want to call it is just a _necessary_ step for humans to accept this change."

Toriel and Asgore shot another glance at each other, and besides Frisk, Sans sighed. They frowned and motioned with their hands. (Aren't humans allowed to carry weapons though? They don't get penalized for those, and magic is much better in my opinion.)

Sans nodded and repeated Frisk's question and Ox Head snorted. "No no, of course these things are different. Humans are quite harmless compared to the variegated zoo you expect us to let into our society. Weapons don't have such dangerous… ramifications."

(But magic isn't normally used to fight! How can you-)

"It is either you agree to obey this law or you and your monsters will need to find a new home, King Asgore." The fourth human spoke up, another woman who watched everything with calculating eyes and red hair. "Well?"

Frisk bit their lip as Asgore had no choice but to give his assent.

.

(I felt useless,) Frisk signed dejectedly as Sans walked besides them to their school. They had already missed a few classes because of that meeting, but Toriel refused to give them any full skip days after those meetings.

"eh, they're a pretty stubborn lot. nothing you could've done." Sans commented idly.

(But still, I should've been able to do something! That law… what if monsters are attacked by humans? We can't defend ourselves!) Frisk protested.

Sans halted, raising an eyebrow as he glanced at Frisk. They realized what they had said and blushed, looking away.

(...You guys,) they corrected themself. (You guys can't defend yourselves.)

Sans chuckled, putting his hands into his pockets and starting to walk again. "i'd say you're a bit young to have these kinds of worries, kiddo, but we both know we've handled worse. it'll be fine, frisk- we're on the surface. compared to that, any other issue can be fixed through our hard work. personally i think those humans were just mad i was wearing pink slippers to the meeting. they looked really boned about that, heh heh."

Frisk giggled silently, and Sans looked at them sadly. "by the way…your throat doing all right, kiddo?"

(It's fine. It hurts to try and talk still but it doesn't wake me up anymore.)

"good."

The two lapsed back into silence, and Sans paused as they arrived at the school's gate. "welp, kiddo, i think this is your stop. tori should be along shortly for homeroom."

(Thanks, Sans,) Frisk motioned. They turned to enter the building before pausing and waving at Sans as the monster winked at them and wandered off, probably going to one of his part-time jobs.

Their school was fairly small; it had only been open for a month, actually, and so far there were only thirty monster children and one human child. Frisk.

There would have been many more monster children, Frisk thought, had monsters had the same lifespans as humans. In reality, monster children were extraordinarily rare according to Toriel, because monsters didn't have enough HP to give HOPE to new monsters often. It was a problem expected to be remedied soon enough, though, what with the Surface open to the monsters now.

The bell rang and Frisk hurried inside, glad Toriel had insisted on dropping off their backpack earlier that morning.

.

School that day was overall uneventful. Frisk had special classes on human politics and government, but other than that they attended classes with several of their friends like Monster Kid. He was always fascinated with Wing Dings, since he didn't have hands to try using the sign language for himself.

That day, it was Papyrus picking Frisk up. Toriel was normally busy tutoring after school, so Frisk's other guardians took turns walking them home from school or going to get ice cream.

Papyrus was wearing a red t-shirt with white letters declaring "Bad to the Bone!" on it in bold print. Sans' influence, Frisk thought in amusement as they looked down at their purple sweater with the royal emblem on it. Toriel had given it to them as a present on their birthday.

"FRISK! OVER HERE!" The skeleton waved excitedly and Frisk hurried over, latching onto Papyrus' offered hand with a grin.

(Papyrus! You came!)

"OF COURSE I DID, SMALL HUMAN. THE GREAT PAPYRUS NEVER BREAKS HIS PROMISES!"

Frisk beamed, following the skeleton to his red convertible he had parked on the side of the road. They were still a bit surprised the skeleton had managed to pass the driver's test in just three months, but he was actually quite the safe driver despite his theatrical personality.

(So, where to today? A spaghetti restaurant? Sans' part-time job? The park? Or just home?) Frisk asked eagerly, strapping in.

Papyrus grinned, taping sunglasses to his face. Frisk watched, amused and certain he was doing it just to look cool since he technically didn't have eyes that could be harmed by the sun, but maybe he was still not used to sunlight after his life spent underground.

"TODAY I HAVE A SPECIAL SURPRISE FOR YOU, LITTLE HUMAN!" He announced. "METTATON AND I WERE TALKING, AND HE SAID HE WANTED TO GIVE ME TICKETS FOR HIS SHOW TONIGHT! WOWIE, WASN'T THAT NICE OF HIM?"

Frisk's eyes widened. (Really? I thought his shows were packed lately!) They grinned, nudging Papyrus with their elbow. (Are you sure there's no _specific_ reason for this invitation?)

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT- OHHHH NO. WHAT DOES THAT FACE MEAN, FRISK?"

(Maybe you two have pushed all of the right buttons? Had a bit of chemistry?) Frisk waggled their eyebrows. (Maybe he's nuts and bolts about you-)

"AUGH, I GET IT ALREADY. PLEASE STOP!" Papyrus yelled. "I HAD ENOUGH TO DEAL WITH WHEN THERE WAS ONE BAD PUN PERSON AROUND, I CAN'T DEAL WITH TWO!"

(But are you-)

"I DON'T KNOW! NO! YES! MAYBE!" Papyrus grumbled. His face turned slightly flushed (how skeletons could blush, Frisk would never know) and he kept his gaze fixed firmly on the road. "WE'RE REALLY JUST FRIENDS, FRISK. I'M HOPING NOT TO SCREW IT UP SINCE HE'S… WELL… KIND OF ONE OF MY IDOLS BUT I DON'T KNOW IF I FEEL THAT WAY. I DON'T KNOW HOW I'D KNOW EVEN IF IT WAS SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT." Papyrus nervously glanced at Frisk to watch them sign, still glancing back at the road to remain on course.

(Well, I went on a first date with you a lot. Like, over a hundred times.) Frisk grinned. (I'm sure you'll figure things out.)

"NYEHEH. THANKS, HUMAN."

Frisk smiled, turning to watch the scenery fly by. They paused, glancing back at Papyrus for a moment.

(Um, Papyrus?)

"YES?"

(Can you maybe… not call me "human" anymore?) Frisk signed sheepishly.

Papyrus blinked, startled. "OH! UM. SURE, FRISK. IS THERE A REASON FOR THIS? I'VE CALLED YOU THAT FOR SO LONG IT JUST BECAME A HABIT…"

(Well, it's just. There's a lot of humans we meet everyday now! And it made sense when there was just me but… but now…) Frisk sighed. (It's a bit… complicated.)

"ALL RIGHT, FRISK. I'LL JUST CALL YOU FRIEND THEN! OR IS FRIEND A NO-GO? WHAT ABOUT COUSIN?"

Frisk laughed. (Friend is fine. Or cousin. Fellow skeleton in a meatsack and all that.)

"THE GREAT PAPYRUS CAN SURELY DO THAT, COUSIN!"

The two laughed again, and the red convertible sped towards the stadium that was located in the middle of the city.

.

Sans yawned, checking his phone again to see if another minute had passed yet. Nope. Still the same as the last time he had checked it.

The door rang as it was pushed open, and Sans looked up, slipping his phone back into his pocket.

"So what'll it be today?" He asked, leaning against the counter and grinning as Alphys and Undyne walked in. "nice cream? starfait?" He winked, glancing back to make sure one of his coworkers didn't hear him. "i'm pretty sure glitter was dumped into the starfait so i would definitely recommend the nice cream."

"Figures," Undyne said, studying the parfait dubiously. "What do you want, Alph? I was thinking we should split a nice cream. It's too damn hot on the surface!"

"T-That's just because it's the season of summer," Alphys offered, and then turned pink as she turned back to Undyne. "U-Uh, wait, s-share an ice cream? T-that's an i-i-indirect k-kiss isn't it?!" She squeaked.

Undyne turned and gave her girlfriend a _duh_ look before laughing loudly. "Alphys we've already kissed _multiple times,_ what is there possibly to-"  
"N-Not here! Please, Undyne!" Alphys cried, covering her face.

Sans chuckled, turning to root around in the freezer for the nice cream. "sure thing, one nice cream coming right up,"

"Thanks!" Undyne grinned, baring her teeth as she looked around. "By the way, Sans, business today sure is slow, huh?" She glanced around at the three other customers, all monsters, and frowned. "Wasn't this spot popular for humans? I thought we'd see more in here."

Sans shrugged. "apparently our food hasn't been cleared as "safe for human consumption" yet. some kind of concern about raw energy bein' bad for humans or whatever. i'd think we'd know by now if this was an issue, though, since frisk is doing just fine and they've only eaten monster food for a while now."

"Hmph. Cowards. Don't even know what they're missing out on," Undyne snorted, pulling her red hair back and putting it into her normal ponytail. "I'm sure they'll come around eventually though. We're gonna show them what's awesome about monsters!"

Sans shrugged. "sure."

"Did Burgerpants or that blue softy clear your request to sell hotdogs yet?" Undyne asked, glancing over the rest of the menu.

"nah. that'd mean i'd have to cook somethin'." Sans muttered, yawning again. "not my style to ask for more work anyways. so, where are you two heading off to today?"

"W-We've got tickets to Mettaton's concert tonight," Alphys said. "He's doing r-really well here! I'm a bit concerned about… well… his energy consumption, but he insists that his fans prefer his EX form so we're trying it again for now."

"So we've both got to go babysit on the sideline while that guy dances around onstage!" Undyne complained, tossing some money on the counter. "I wanted to catch up on that anime you were showing me, Alph!"

"W-We can tomorrow," Alphys smiled. "But i-it should be fun! Papyrus posted that Frisk and him are going."

"paps is?" Sans handed Undyne back some change after puzzling over how many quarters went into a dollar again. Humans and their strange currencies. "tell 'im hi for me."

"Will do!" Undyne said cheerfully, grabbing Alphys' hand. "Come on, Alph, if we're gonna go we need to get the best view possible!"

"Okay! Bye, Sans!" Alphys called.

"see ya."

The two left, the door swinging shut behind them, and Sans returned to gazing out the window just in time to see a child look inside hopefully before their mother rushed forwards, taking them by the hand and quickly tugging them away before glancing warily back at Undyne and Alphys as they walked away in the other direction.

Sans sighed.

Figures.

He checked his phone's clock again before leaning against the counter and closing his eyes, waiting for the shop's door to open again.

.

.

.

((I didn't even know I liked Mettaton x Papyrus before writing this chapter. Huh. Interesting, lol. Don't worry though, if you guys don't care for romance there isn't really anything seriously romantic in this story. Just a few results of the scenario, I suppose. Also, nah, this isn't a slice of life story. That was why I was so hesitant to agree to write a sequel in the _first_ place- I needed a plot! So yeah. First two chapters might seem a bit slow but trust me, there are important details in both to set everything up.^^ I'm really blown away for everyone's support this round! I hope not to disappoint. c:

On a side note, reason I've been writing less lately: I beat Undyne today. On No Mercy. Took me a solid four days. Now. Let's see what Sans has got, hehe. [I said I wouldn't but I did, same as this sequel lol.]))


	3. Chapter 3

The music blared loudly, and Frisk stood on the tips of their feet to try and get a better view. People jostled past them, humans, monsters, all sorts of beings in every shape and size. Frisk couldn't help but smile as the music and the cheerful atmosphere put everyone in a pleasant mood.

"FRISK!" Papyrus called, reaching for their arm through the throngs of people. He was tall and noticeable enough that people shifted to the side for him, and he grabbed Frisk around the waist and hoisted them easily up onto his shoulders so they could see the stage.

Mettaton was currently singing a new rendition of "Oh My Love," Napstablook nodding as they worked the mix tapes and Shyren slowly gaining speed as the backup singer. They sounded really nice together, Frisk noticed with a grin. Mettaton was loving the attention, blowing kisses at random audience members and sliding across stage as he did ridiculous poses which the crowd seemed to revel in. Both Napstablook and Shyren were much shyer, but they had started coming out of their shells recently as well.

Papyrus shifted, nimble on his toes as the crowd around them pulsed and the music and voices grew louder until Frisk couldn't hear what Papyrus was saying right by their ear. Neither seemed to mind though; both Frisk and Papyrus eagerly watched, Papyrus almost bouncing with the crowd's movements as Frisk wrapped their arms around his throat so they wouldn't fall off.

The sky started to grow dark, and Mettaton tossed glow sticks out towards the audience as he smirked confidently on stage. "Thank you darlings so much for coming!" He announced into his microphone. The crowd cheered, and Frisk blinked in surprise. Compared to daily life, it was almost like there was no separation between monsters and humans here at all. This was what it should be like.

"So, I have one final song for tonight! I hope you enjoy it!" Mettaton crowed, then turned and nodded at his cousin. "Blooky, hit it!"

The beat pulsed through the air and Frisk could've sworn they saw a glimpse of someone familiar in the crowd, a quick flash of red hair and blue scales…

They quickly waved their hands in front of Papyrus' face, quickly spelling out with their fingers (Papyrus! I think that's Undyne!)

"WHAT? WHERE?" Papyrus yelled. The skeleton raised a hand and skimmed the crowd, squinting in the bright light. "UNDYNE!" He bellowed over the music, weaving his way through the crowd as Frisk tightened their grip around his neck.

Undyne paused, turning and looking back for a moment as she looked around. Her eyes landed on Frisk, who was the only noticeable feature sticking out head and shoulders above the rest of the crowd. "Frisk! And Papyrus!" She waved. "Get over here ya punks!"

Papyrus slipped up to her, muttering quick apologies as people bumped up against him. One human in particular elbowed him particularly hard, hissing in pain as his elbow connected with Papyrus' bones underneath his shirt. "MY BAD!" Papyrus apologized, slipping beside Undyne and then noticing Alphys. "OH! HELLO, ALPHYS!" He yelled.

"What?" Undyne yelled over the music, and Frisk grinned.

(We just wanted to say hi,) they signed. (Papyrus said you were planning to be here!)

Undyne and Alphys smiled, nodding at Frisk and Papyrus before the two turned back to watching the stage. Frisk thought Alphys looked a bit nervous, so they also turned and observed as Mettaton wobbled slightly on stage. They frowned. They had thought Mettaton was scheduled to return to the square body he normally used, but after practicing with it, Mettaton abruptly decided he was determined to keep using his more humanoid body.

The final song finished and the crowd cheered. Alphys motioned for Frisk to follow her, and the four set off towards the backstage area. People pushed around them, streaming in lines towards the exits or staying around and chatting. Frisk noticed one group of children in particular, three humans and one rabbit monster, and they hid their smile as they ducked past. There were multiple groups of assorted species, actually, now that they looked for it.

Alphys slipped ahead, hurrying towards Mettaton as he leaned against the side of the stage waiting for them. He was arguing with a human, a woman with short brown hair and glasses, and waved his hand in dismissal.

"What was that all about?" Undyne asked as the lady turned and walked away, casting a frown over her shoulder back at Mettaton.

"It's nothing, darlings. Just a minor disagreement with my human relations director," Mettaton said tiredly, shrugging. "We don't exactly see eye to eye on a few issues."

"N-Nevermind that," Alphys muttered, rushing over and checking Mettaton. "I s-saw you stumble, you're e-energy levels are dropping aren't they?" She accused, fiddling with a power chord. "C-Come on, we need to plug you in s-somewhere."

"Alphys, darling, it's nothing. I just overexerted myself a little, it's fine. If my fans are having fun, that's all that matters to me."

(Why aren't you using your other body if there's an energy problem?) Frisk asked curiously.

Mettaton grinned sheepishly, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "Vanity, darling. Humans have a lot of popular dance moves that a square body just can't do."

(So make up your own,) Frisk replied, amused. (That's what you've always done before.)

"FRISK IS CORRECT," Papyrus commented. "HUMAN DANCING IS NICE BUT! THE GREAT PAPYRUS THINKS METTATON'S DANCING IS JUST AS GOOD!"

"Ha ha, thank you darlings. I'm pleased that you think so," Mettaton said. "By the way, can one of you go get Blooky? I need to ask them about the beat for one of our newer songs. I don't think Alphys is going to let me move until I'm fully charged again."

Alphys made an affirmative grunt, finally finding a place to plug Mettaton's charger into the wall.

(I can do it!) Frisk signed, Papyrus letting them down onto the ground as they enthusiastically bounced in place.

Undyne nodded, grinning. "I'll go and get them for ya too, MTT."

Undyne held out her hand, careful not to crush Frisk's much smaller one as they grasped it eagerly. If Undyne got excited, Frisk would possibly regret accepting her invitation, but they didn't want to get separated and besides, hand holding made Frisk happy. It showed people cared about them and wanted them with that person. Frisk's parents hadn't normally offered them their hands.

They checked backstage first, but according to Shyren Blooky had already left, apparently going to chat with some of their new friends. Undyne and Frisk went to go search among the audience instead.

"You see anything yet?" Undyne called, but Frisk shifted and shook their head. They were standing on Undyne's shoulders, her hands grasping their ankles so they wouldn't fall. (She had insisted they look for the ghost in the quickest fashion possible.)

A quick flash of a pale white figure caught Frisk's eye and they turned, the night's wind flicking their hair into their eyes.

(Hey, wait, I think I see them,) they signed in front of Undyne's line of sight. (Try going left-)

A scream interrupted Frisk's instructions and Undyne went stiff, fingers tightening around Frisk's ankles.

"What was that?" She demanded, Frisk sitting down and securing a firm grip around Undyne's neck in case of a rapid escape. Undyne released one of Frisk's legs, energy half forming at her fingertips when Frisk snapped to get her attention.

(No magic!) They signed frantically. (You can't!)

"Watch me," Undyne grunted, but she stopped trying to form her spear. "Come on, Frisk, let's see what's up."

Echoing shouts erupted just as she finished talking, and Frisk clung tighter as Undyne raced towards the crowd, ready for a fight.

Three monsters, all Astygmatisms, stood surrounding two human children. One human child was on the ground, crying, as blood dripped from their knees. Humans and monsters watched from a ring surrounding them, and Frisk realized with a sinking feeling that things could escalate quickly and Undyne might be the spark to the already dire situation.

"What's going on here?" Undyne demanded, stalking forwards.

A human girl turned and looked up at Undyne, fear and then relief flickering through her eyes. "Oh! You- You're the main police force of the monsters, right?" The girl babbled. "You have to stop those monsters! They just suddenly attacked, I don't know why they did that…"

 _Attacked with magic,_ Frisk realized with a chill. Not even one day and the new law had been violated in one of the most public spaces. But- no, the law hadn't even been announced to the public yet. It took a while to write a law, as far as Frisk understood.

"I got it. You three!" Undyne barked, striding towards the monsters. "What, exactly, do you three knuckleheads think you're doing?!"

"They looked at us," one sneered, blinking and shifting its gaze to Undyne. "They had seen enough."

"These are _civilians._ Was it not made clear to you that if you couldn't follow the rules you would have to stay in the monster adjustment areas until you did?!" Undyne seethed. "Leave at once or I'll drag you three to Asgore myself."

"What are we so afraid of?" One of the others muttered, but the other two exchanged glances and then shrugged.

"Fine. Have it your way," the first one said. The three turned and left, the crowd silently parting to watch them go.

Frisk peeked at their faces, watching carefully for any signs of further violence. The humans looked stricken and the monsters concerned, but overall everyone just looked relieved Undyne had ended the issue.

"Now," Undyne asked, crossing her arms. "Does anyone know where the hell a ghost with headphones went?"

.

Flowey tapped his leaves impatiently against the ground. Chara had gone and left him here alone. And it wasn't the first time, either. Chara was constantly off somewhere, and whenever Flowey caught up to them they were spacing out in the middle of nowhere or bothering that strange... Skeleton? Ghost? Flowey wasn't sure _what_ Gaster was.

Chara also didn't really talk anymore; they constantly ignored Flowey, and whenever they talked to him, they only used his old name.

At first, Flowey had been delighted. His best friend and sibling was back with him, and everything would be fun and right again. Except it _wasn't._ Neither Chara nor Flowey could use RESETS now; Frisk still held onto that power somehow, whether they knew that little detail or not.

Flowey had been looking forwards to someone understanding him. Someone whom Flowey couldn't predict, who was the same as him and empty inside and why wasn't everything going just like he had expected?

Chara's behavior had started off as a surprise, a delightful exciting new toy that Flowey had wanted to have for years. But now that they were here, all they did was wander around and ignore Flowey other than a few contemplative side glances they gave him.

In other words, Chara had gotten _boring._

Flowey didn't like that. Sure, in the moments when he had been Asriel again, he thought he cared about Chara, thought he loved them… but now, Flowey knew the truth.

He really didn't care about anyone anymore.

He was empty, emptier now than ever before because he had no RESET powers to entertain himself with, and it was unspeakably frustrating.

Well, fine.

Even without the power of RESETS, there was an entire world out there to explore now that the barrier was gone. Flowey could go anywhere, anytime.

In fact, he could leave _right now_ and leave his boring sibling to wonder where _he'd_ gone for a change.

Perhaps Frisk would be the more interesting toy to get close to right now. They still had the RESET; Flowey could slowly and carefully break their DETERMINATION and take it again, but this time with the entire world at his grasp.

The flower turned to leave just as a figure moved into his path and blocked his path.

 _[I think you and I need to have a little chat,]_ Gaster said calmly, smiling eerily down at Flowey. _[Prince Asriel.]_

.

.

.

((So. Uh, funny story. I've had the same computer for six years, and in the last two weeks… well. Starting a few days ago, let's just say I might need a new computer if I can't fix it soon. And frankly, right now I'm typing on my really annoying Surface which hates Google Docs. So it takes longer. Forgive meeeee.

Actually, the funniest part of this entire situation is my computer died while I was fighting Sans. It's been doing badly for the last few weeks, sure, but the moment it finally died? First, the music on Undertale stopped… yet the game sound effects and game itself worked fine. Then I couldn't get out of the game. So there I was, with the text "You feel like you're gonna have a bad time"

In other words, Sans made sure I wasn't coming back. My poor computer got dunked on. What a glorious way to go.))


	4. Chapter 4

It had been a Friday night, so Frisk went home with Papyrus.

Sans was waiting for them at home, pink slipper tapping impatiently on the ground as he leaned against the doorway watching the red car pull up.

"you're okay?" He asked Papyrus softly, nodding at Frisk in hello after Papyrus turned the engine off.

"OF COURSE WE ARE!" Papyrus said cheerfully, opening the door and helping Frisk unbuckle. "WHY WOULDN'T WE BE?"

"this." Sans said, face unreadable as he flipped his phone around to face Papyrus and Frisk. Frisk felt their stomach sink as they saw a video, shaky and clearly taken from someone's phone, displaying the entire complication from the concert. "it's all over the human internet."

"OH. THAT," Papyrus said, glancing at it. "DON'T WORRY, BROTHER, IT WASN'T ANYTHING DANGEROUS. I DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE ANYTHING WAS HAPPENING UNTIL FRISK AND UNDYNE RETURNED!"

"it isn't about whether it was a big deal or not paps," Sans replied, frowning. "it's about whether the humans make it a big deal."

(What do you mean?) Frisk asked nervously. (Undyne got the monsters to leave.)

"after they attacked human children with magic," Sans replied flatly. "not a good sign, especially after the latest meeting we had with the human representatives."

"IT SHOULD BE FINE!" Papyrus said brightly. "NEXT TIME I GO AS THE MASCOT OF MONSTERS, I'LL BRING SOME OF MY PUZZLES AND JAPES TO GET A FRIENDLY ATMOSPHERE GOING! NOBODY CAN STAY IN A BAD MOOD AFTER THAT!"

(Haha. I'm sure you can do that,) Frisk signed, relaxing as they nudged the tall skeleton. Papyrus grinned at them and ruffled their hair, Frisk pretending to be dismayed as they tried to fix their hair again.

"welp. anyways. you two eat anything yet?"

"NOT YET!"

(We can't break our Friday pizza and movie marathon tradition!) Frisk protested.

"heh. good, i just got two hot pizzas waiting inside. c'mon, then, i bet you two are bone tired." Sans waved at them, nudging the door open with his foot and entering the threshold.

Papyrus nudged Frisk back again playfully and followed, Frisk carefully shutting the door behind them. They looked around the well-lit room, the television already turned on and looping on the title selection sequence of a movie. It looked like Sans had chosen some kind of comedy.

Sans plopped down onto the green sofa, propping his feet up on the coffee table everyone had picked to put there. Papyrus shot him a withering glance, teeth clicking shut as he gestured at Sans' feet before giving up. ("AT LEAST HE CAN'T LEAVE HIS FEET THERE FOREVER," he had told Frisk in exasperation.)

The pizza was still in the boxes, so Frisk and Papyrus each grabbed one from the kitchen counter and brought it into the living room. Frisk claimed the middle section of the couch as their spot, and Papyrus took their other side.

(Why is one of the pizzas without cheese? It's just sauce,) Frisk questioned, peering into one of the open boxes.

"nah, there's sauce and ketchup on there. that's different."

"SANS! WHY DID YOU ORDER THAT?" Papyrus complained. "BROTHER, YOU KNOW ONLY YOU WILL EAT IT."

Sans shrugged. "not my fault you're such a weirdough when it comes to pizzas."

"SANS!"

Sans grinned, eyeing Papyrus as he carefully studied his expression. "oh, sorry bro, was that pizza joke too cheesy for ya? don't look so down, my pizza doesn't have any on it so it's all good."

(Sans, start the movie!) Frisk urged over Papyrus' loud, distraught groaning.

Sans fished around the cushions for the remote then grunted and flicked his finger, the remote turning blue and flying across the room towards him and landing in his hand. He winked in response to Frisk's raised eyebrows and clicked play, settling back and shoving the pizza into his mouth.

"THIS IS REALLY GOOD BROTHER! IS THIS ONE OF THE NEW OFFERINGS AT YOUR WORKPLACE?" Papyrus asked, splitting the plain cheese pizza with Frisk.

"yup. i'm too lazy to drive out of my way to get pizza. honestly, i can't wait until more monsters get licenses," Sans said thoughtfully. "not enough services can provide deliveries yet like i hear humans do with pizza."

(Human food isn't that good anyways,) Frisk signed with a grin as they wiped pizza sauce off of their mouth. (Half the time it gives you a stomach ache. I prefer pizza from monster restaurants.)

"WELL, I'M GLAD WE DON'T HAVE DELIVERY SERVICES YET!" Papyrus said. "YOU'D BE SO LAZY THAT YOU'D NEVER LEAVE THE HOUSE!"

"heh. maybe. well, human food sounds like an interesting sensation but i'm sure i could stomach that," Sans said with a wink. "'course, i don't have an actual stomach but. y'know." His gaze wandered back to the television and he shrugged. "haven't really left the monster living district too much other than my job. maybe all of us can go out to try human food with tori sometime."

Frisk grinned back at him and Papyrus shifted so they all had enough room on their sofa, and the three watched as the night stretched on. Eventually Papyrus went to bed, Sans reading him some of the human children's books he had recently found and Frisk and Papyrus listening with excitement as a magician battled dragons and fought in valiant battles. The lights were turned off upstairs, and the two that preferred the couch to their bedrooms went back downstairs with pillows and blankets tucked under their arms.

Frisk curled up on the couch, noticing with half-closed eyes that Sans' face was dimly lit by his phone as he watched something. They shifted, pulling their hands out from under the warm blanket.

(What're you looking at?) Frisk asked curiously, sitting back up to turn on the lamp.

Sans looked up, frowning. "nothing, kiddo. just checking to make sure no one seriously got hurt at the concert again."

Frisk moved, shifting so they could go look over Sans' shoulder. Once again they saw the human children get attacked, the Astigmatisms flinging their bodies against the ground as their bodies took the hit and blood dripped from their (luckily) shallow wounds.

Frisk frowned. Why did something feel off? It was like something in this picture was missing. Something like…

Frisk's hand wandered up to their chest and they concentrated, their red SOUL appearing with a ding. Sans paused the video, looking up at Frisk questioningly. In monster culture, summoning one's SOUL meant either the desire for battle or openness, a way to prove one was literally wearing their heart on their sleeve while talking about delicate matters.

Frisk raised their gaze to meet Sans', swallowing as their throat suddenly felt dry and uncomfortable. (Sans… why didn't the humans at the concert's SOULS come out when they were attacked?) Frisk asked quietly. (They were just… their bodies were shoved almost, and they got hurt. Why am I different?)

Sans blinked, clicking his phone shut and stuffing it back into his pocket. "i... i dunno," he muttered, staring at Frisk contemplatively. His eyes darted down to their SOUL and his grin tilted down a bit. "now that i think about it… huh. that's something new. every other human before definitely had a SOUL come out of their body."

(Oh.) Frisk tapped their chin thoughtfully, glancing out the window. (Tomorrow's Saturday, right? Can we go visit Gaster to ask him?)

"ugh. him? again?" Sans grumbled. "ya visited him last month, kiddo."

(Saaaans…)

"fine, fine. it might be important information to have, at any rate."

Frisk grinned, pulling the blanket back up and around their shoulders. (...It's different than I thought it would be,) they signed after a moment. (Coming to the surface, I mean.)

Sans studied them, his eyes white orbs in the dark room. "yeah," he agreed quietly. "it is."

He reached his hand out and the lamp clicked off with a small flare of blue magic.

.

Frisk ran on ahead of Sans, disappearing into the dark shadow of the mountain and stepping through the bed of yellow flowers. Sans trailed them at a distance, hands stuffed into his pockets and eyes flicking around the room as he carefully kept watch on their surroundings.

The two got into the elevator together, the doors sliding shut with a dinging sound. Frisk was relieved that Gaster had moved to the Lab; it was much closer than his secret room in Waterfall, and the River Monster didn't have to ferry them back and forth all the time.

As they stepped off of the elevator, Sans close behind them, they could feel their scalp prickle as eyes watched them from somewhere. Frisk paused and glanced around. Was Gaster already here?

Sans also stopped, examining the area. "what is it, kiddo?" He asked softly. "he here?"

(I don't know.) Frisk frowned but resumed walking, the heat making their sweater feel unneeded in this environment. (Do you have your entrance card?)

"yup." Sans produced his old identification, swiping it in the doorway and stepping back to let the doors slide open. "let's just get this over with, huh?"

 _[Ah.]_ The inside of the Lab was darker than usual, and Frisk could just barely see the tall form of W. D. Gaster stooping over the table in the middle of the room. _[Visitors.]_

Sans flicked on the light without replying, and Frisk waved at the ghostly skeleton. (Hi, Gaster!)

 _[What is the purpose to this excursion?]_ Gaster inquired, drifting over to Frisk. _[I do not believe it is because one of the anomalies has caused any trouble; I confronted one of the two yesterday after I noticed a slight shift in their behavior.]_

(Confronted…?) Frisk blinked and shook their head. (I'm not sure what you mean by that, but I wanted to ask you about human SOULS.)

 _[It must be serious if Sans is in the same room as me,]_ Gaster dryly observed. _[Are you having any issues with HP or something?]_

(No- I mean, yes.) Frisk summoned their SOUL and Sans tensed, eyes darting between Frisk and Gaster. (It still- My SOUL still comes out of my body.)

 _[That's normal.]_

(No, it's not! Even when attacked, other humans don't have their SOULS come out at all! Mine comes out whenever my emotions shift now. Is something wrong? Why am I different?) Frisk signed rapidly.

Gaster raised one eyebrow, studying Frisk for a moment. _[May I?]_ He asked, gesturing at their SOUL. Frisk nodded, and Sans suddenly stepped forwards, putting himself in between the two.

"whoah. kiddo, i don't think that's a good idea," Sans warned, eyeing Gaster warily.

 _[I shall not harm them, Sans. If I wanted to do so, I would have done that one of the last times they were down here.]_

Frisk gently poked Sans' back. (It's fine,) they signed. (I'm aware of the risks, Sans.)

Sans stared down at them, expression unreadable, before he shifted and stepped to the side, tracking Gaster's every movement with his eyes.

Gaster reached forwards again, his hands carefully taking hold of Frisk's SOUL. Frisk shivered; it felt like an icy breeze all over their skin at Gaster's touch.

Gaster examined the SOUL, careful to keep it away from his chest area so he wouldn't absorb it by accident. _[Hmm. I have never examined a human's SOUL before they died before,]_ he commented, going silent again as he gazed at Frisk's SOUL, too focused to say anything else.

"well?" Sans finally muttered as minutes ticked by. He grimaced, shifting from one foot to another as he tried to keep his calm exterior while talking to Gaster. "g, i know you get kinda, uh, wrapped up in your projects but i need to get the kid home before it's too dark."

Gaster's eyes flicked up to Sans' face for a moment before he nodded. _[I am aware.]_ Gaster turned and released the red heart, the SOUL instantly shooting back into Frisk's chest and vanishing. _[I think I see what it is.]_

(You do?)

 _[Radiation levels, Frisk.]_ Gaster tilted his head, clasping his two floating hands behind his back as he paced, a shadow shifting from one side to the other. _[Magic creates certain levels of it, normally perfectly harmless. Monsters are creatures made of magic, so we don't even notice it. Originally, this type of magic residue dissipated into the stratosphere or spread to help plants grow and returned to the earth, but when the barrier went up all of that magic residue became trapped. Anyone who stepped into the Underground instantly was bathed in it, until the barrier was released three months ago.]_

Frisk's eyes widened. (You mean my SOUL wasn't supposed to behave like this.)

 _[No. Human SOULS, back when I and the rest of the monsters roamed the Surface prior to the Fall, came out during combat but that was all since they were only exposed to some magic from us monsters. Yours comes out much more frequently due to the high levels of concentration you were exposed to. In addition, the RESETS… might have increased the level of effects you received.]_

Sans frowned, resting one hand on Frisk's shoulder as his brow furrowed. "is that dangerous for them?"

 _[It shouldn't be. The only danger for Frisk is it is easier for a human to be killed while their SOUL is exposed… but they are also extraordinarily more powerful than the average human as a result.]_ Gaster's mouth quirked up in a grin. _[No. The main danger that came with this exposure has already passed.]_

Frisk swallowed, throat dry. (And… that was…?)

Gaster watched their hands, shrugging slightly. _[You never noticed how peculiar it was that only children traversed the Underground?]_ Sans and Frisk exchanged confused looks, and Gaster smirked. _[All humans who had older SOULS that could not survive their abrupt expulsion from their body at that age did not survive their fall down here. They instantly died from the strain placed on their SOULS, and they did not have HP to allow them to survive their ill-fated plummet.]_

Frisk stepped backwards, hands tightening. (How many?) They signed. (How many humans total died, Gaster?)

Gaster turned away, drifting back to his studies. _[At least thirty,]_ he murmured as he motioned for Frisk and Sans to show themselves out. _[Someone had to go looking for the missing children, after all…]_

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

((The good news: my computer is fixed! Good as new.

The bad news: It got reset. So it's _literally_ good as new. That's right, you heard me. Hard drive got corrupted 'n stuff, lost all of my files and everything. (And no, the irony of the situation is not lost on me.)

Sans made sure I understood very well how getting everything reset without my choice felt. Darn it all, you sneaky skeleton. I'm going back to pacifist runs. I've learned my lesson here lol.

Anyways. Flowey and Chara will be coming and going in their narration, if you haven't noticed, but don't worry. They should be coming back next chapter. Also, exams start this week for me and continue for an entire month (bleh) so I'll be pretty busy. Just a heads up~))


	5. Chapter 5

Chara heard voices echoing down the hall. They paused, turning to look over their shoulder.

Flowey popped up beside them, scowling. He had been sulking since yesterday, although Chara wasn't sure why. They didn't really care enough to ask.

"It's the smiley trashbag and company," Flowey said, needlessly answering a question Chara didn't even have. "They're just leaving _his_ area."

More sulking. Chara's lips twitched; their sibling really hadn't matured since the two's untimely death. It was somewhat amusing to see. They guessed he was miffed about Gaster for some reason, but his problems weren't really Chara's concern. If his issues were going to get in Chara's way, they were certain he'd have said something.

Chara turned back to stare down the corridor. They could hear Sans' voice, now that he was getting closer. Frisk, of course, was silent, but that didn't really mean anything. They could be talking even more than Sans and Chara wouldn't know unless they were watching.

 **"They sound upset,"** Chara said after a moment.

Flowey scoffed, turning away. "What, they're having troubles on the Surface? Oh no. Imagine that."

Chara ignored him, instead walking past the flower and heading down the hallway. They had hid from those two's sight long enough. What could Sans do to them, anyways? Nothing, that's what.

"Chara?" Flowey called. "Where are you…?"

Chara waved a hand at him without looking back. **"Sans can't see me anyways,"** they answered without slowing down. **"I'm going to go look."**

They didn't wait for Flowey to protest, striding towards the voices. They were getting closer, and Chara could now make out the individual words.

"it's obvious now that i, um, think about it. i've studied magic residue just like gaster but i never thought it would… well. my bad."

Silence.

"haha, yup. it does have some serious… ramifications. especially now that all of that magic energy isn't "here" anymore. i'll talk to alph, see if she can work on this. if we're not careful, we might have a lot of very startled humans suddenly seeing their SOULS…"

Chara rounded the corner just in time to see Frisk motion something at Sans. The human was slightly taller now, and their clothes were different. The purple sweater and white emblem marked Frisk as what Chara might have once been, but that was of no matter. Chara told themself it didn't matter, not really.

...At least it wasn't a yellow and green sweater.

Frisk shifted forwards and they paused, eyes widening as they caught sight of Chara standing in the duo's direct path in the dim, flickering light. It was night time now, so the Core was running at low power.

"...kid?" Sans asked after his eyes darted to where Chara was. "what are ya looking at?"

 **"He still can't see me, huh?"** Chara said cheerfully, waving. **"Hiya Frisk! It's me, Chara, remember?"**

Frisk's eyes darted to Sans and back and they tentatively smiled and weakly waved back. (Um, Sans?) They signed after a beat.

"what is it, kiddo?"

(Ummm. It's. Chara. Chara's here,) they signed, looking slightly alarmed. Interesting.

What was even more interesting, however, was the instant appearance of not one, but five gaster blasters. Sans' eye was an instant shade of brilliant blue, hand outstretched and eye darting around as he searched for Chara.

"where?" He demanded tersely, eyes narrowing.

 **"He can't honestly think he can kill me- right?"** Chara giggled. **"Too bad, though. Sans wasn't exactly free of LV points, either, but he never gained enough at one time coupled with enough determination to see me. He'd be a fun target to bother in this form."**

(Why are you here?) Frisk signed, frowning disapprovingly at Chara. (I haven't seen you since… well. Since the end of the RESETS. I went looking for you and Flowey but…)

 **"Don't worry, Asriel and I are fine. We've just been keeping to ourselves a bit."** Chara studied Sans, walking around him for a moment and sticking their tongue out at the skeleton.

(O-oh. So… So what do you need now?)

"kid, what're they doing?" Sans demanded just as Chara started making faces right in front of him. "you know i don't like this entire situation as it is. we don't need to deal with multiple troublemakers in one day. this one especially is quite the ghostly sort, i don't wanna mess with 'em."

 **"Poor Sans. Always so wary~"** Chara backed away shrugging. **"No. I was just bored, so I came to say hey. You can leave now. I won't stop you."**

Frisk stared at them, expression troubled before they nodded. (Okay. Are- Are you doing okay since…?)

As kind and caring as ever. Chara's eyes narrowed. Hmm. They had thought that something would have _changed_ by now…

 **"I'm doing great!"** They smiled, baring teeth at Frisk. **"It's you I've been worried about: after all, humans aren't the nicest bunch, huh?"**

Bull's eye. Frisk winced, eyes darting to Sans and back. (Yeah. I'm- we're- all fine too.) They nodded at Chara and said their goodbyes, insistently tugging Sans by the jacket as they stepped past Chara. Chara merely stepped aside, smirking at them confidently.

They watched as the two walked away, Sans constantly glancing over his shoulder as the gaster blasters hovered nearby, eyes glowing, until all seven of them vanished around the corner. Chara's grin widened and they crossed their arms and leaned against the hallway's wall, humming to themself.

"Chara…" A voice suddenly piped up beside them. "You're doing your creepy face again. What are you planning…?"

Chara merely shrugged, twisting a strand of hair around their finger. No one said they couldn't have fun watching the timeline crash and burn even without their interference. In fact, watching Frisk break without some anomaly pulling the strings might be one of the most interesting runs yet.

Chara was done with being bored.

.

Sans sat fiddling with a Rubix Cube. It was a welcome break from the thoughts spinning around in his head, and he blearily rubbed his eyes as he shifted on the couch. Frisk lay passed out beside him, but Sans didn't think he could also drift off into dreamland this time. Facing Gaster was cause for alarm by itself; at least Sans could _see_ him.

Chara, however? Sans had no idea what they were thinking. The only three times Sans had ever exchanged words with them were the attempts of taking over Frisk's body they pulled off.

Not exactly a nice start to a friendship.

Sans' eyes drifted back over to Frisk's quiet sleeping form and he watched their chest rise and fall. They had taken Gaster's information better than expected. Sans didn't think there was a cure for their SOUL coming out so often- now that he thought about it, it was at least as often as a monster's SOUL coming out or perhaps even more frequently at that- but Frisk had accepted this relatively easily. Maybe it was because they were adopted by monsters so it was something that made them similar to their friends and family instead of different.

Sans sighed. Something like this gave Frisk empathy for monsters no other human would ever have, as the monster's culture and etiquette regarding SOULS could never be duplicated by regular human SOULS. The constant fear of someone attacking your SOUL directly with no warning or attack initiation would also be unique to Frisk, if the sheer amount of magic radiation didn't turn more human children into magic hotspots.

But it could also make things worse for the kiddo, too. Sans wasn't blind; he had seen Frisk's nervous glances and wary expressions around humans. It was hard to miss their fear. Frisk had never told anyone why they fell down Mt. Ebott but…

Sans sighed. It seemed he and Frisk shared many things in common.

Sans' phone started vibrating in his pocket and Sans flicked it on, squinting in the blue light.

* * *

ALPHYS sent you a text.

*sans text me back! ):

*sans!

*hey, r u there?

* * *

Sans studied the texts, all sent within the past minute. "now what is it?" He muttered warily, flicking his thumbs against the phone's screen. He paused for a moment, considering, and then got up and stepped into the kitchen, dialing Alphys' number.

For once, she picked up almost immediately. "Sans!" She squawked over the phone. "I can't believe this, did you hear about what happened? Oh my gosh this isn't good, we have to call Asgore right now and-"

"alph, it's literally three am. what's so important that you're calling me at this hour?" He asked, keeping his voice guarded.

"What?! Oh! S-Sorry! ...Is it a bad time?" Alphys asked sheepishly, her voice dropping back to manageable levels.

Sans shrugged, leaning against the fridge. "nah, you're fine. what's pullin' at your leg?"

"Those darn p-paparazzi!" Alphys instantly huffed. "They started investigating _Frisk!_ "

Sans blinked. Okay. That wasn't what he was expecting this to be about. "investigating? for what, crimes? the kid's nine. although i'm pretty sure they were arrested for being too cute just last week..."

"This isn't a joke, Sans!" Alphys said. "The human media is a-asking questions about them. Why they only interact with monsters on a daily basis, why they go to a monster school."

"alph, it's just some idiots online spreading rumors, this isn't-"

"Sans, if this keeps up there's talk about _taking Frisk away from us_."

Sans froze. "what?"

"Yeah! Like, u-um, some reporters are starting to question if monsters are "fit" to take care of a human kid and are nosing around for Frisk's official birth certificate and adoption papers. W-We don't have those!" Alphys argued. "M-Monsters don't have paperwork for all the things humans do. I s-should've realized this sooner but…"

"so? what do we do?" Sans asked quietly, covering the phone's speaker with his hand and turning away from the area Frisk was sleeping in. "they can't do that. can they?"

"I- No, I don't think so. Not yet." Alphys paused, voice wary. "It's just a few people online, but this could b-blow up quickly if we don't do something fast."

"got it. i'll see what i can do. maybe toriel can help." Sans moved to hit "end call" but then paused. "and alph? Don't mention this to the kid just yet. they've... had a long week."

"Y-You can count on me," Alphys replied, and Sans hung up with a click.

.

The sun was already high in the sky when Frisk woke up. They stretched, sitting up and rubbing their eyes as they blinked and looked around.

"morning sleepyhead," Sans greeted them, looking up from his phone. Papers were scattered around him and he looked vaguely tired, but Frisk didn't comment on it. They knew how nights without sleep felt, at any rate.

(Is Papyrus gone already?) They signed, curiously looking around.

Sans got up, stuffing his phone back into his pocket. "yup, we were running low on food again. undyne and alphys are coming over later, thought we could have some fun going to an amusement park or somethin'. after everything that happened yesterday, i think we all deserve a break."

(Yeah.) Frisk walked past Sans, noticing a newspaper announcing the new law banning public displays of magic on the front page. They ignored it, stepping over the scattered pages to go into the kitchen and grab the cereal and milk. Sans was right; they were low on milk. (So, um. My SOUL… are you sure everything's all right?)

Sans shrugged, reaching for the cereal and just eating it draw from the box without bothering to get a bowl. "that's partially why i invited alph over. she can check on your SOUL and make sure you're fine."

(Oh. That's good.)

Sans studied them, his eyes serious. "kiddo, honestly? i think you're gonna be fine. it's really not that big of a deal. but you know we're all here for you, right?"

Frisk smiled. (Yeah. I'm aware of that.) They shifted, turning to stare into their bowl as they poked at the cereal with their spoon. (About yesterday… Chara didn't seem to be up to anything really. They were acting a bit strange, but that might just be from boredom. I don't think they meant any harm from it.)

"eh. water under the bridge now," Sans lied. "don't worry 'bout me. just take care of yourself, all right?"

(Of course.)

Sans hesitated for a moment, studying Frisk for a moment longer. "hey kiddo, can you still…? i mean, like, SAVE and stuff?"

Frisk looked down at their lap. (Yes.) They looked back up, meeting Sans with a nervous smile. (But I don't! Not anymore! After everything, of course I wouldn't do anything bad.)

Sans reached over and ruffled their hair. "nah, i'm not worried 'bout that. it's just better to know that you have it," he said with a grin. "rather than someone else."

Frisk giggled and nodded, and the doorbell suddenly rang.

"Hey! We're here, open the door already!" A familiar voice outside shouted.

Sans and Frisk turned to look at each other just as they heard Alphys shout "N-no Undyne, wait, that's not how you open the door-"

 _Crash._

.

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((The first and worst test is done. Five more to go over the course of the month, but they shouldn't be quite so bad. Hopefully.

So many POV skips in this chapter though! I prefer keeping to one or two so this was a bit difficult to fit together. Anyways, onwards with the plot!

Shout out to my rat, who literally just sat on my shoulder and slept while I wrote this entire chapter. She's a good writing companion when she's not squirming the entire time.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!))


	6. Chapter 6

The door flew open, banging against the wall and leaving an impressive-sized dent behind. Undyne's footprint was planted firmly in the door's wood, and Sans and Frisk peered out from the kitchen to see Undyne race in followed by a flustered Alphys.

"Sans!" Undyne snapped, not pausing to look around and pointing an accusing finger in the named monster's direction. "You were at the meeting, right? What the hell?"

Sans blinked, shifted, and then shrugged. "what?" He asked blankly.

"This law!" Undyne snapped, waving a crumpled newspaper around in the air. "I mean, yeah! Humans are afraid of magic, sure! I can get that some idiots need some time for that. But outlawing all magic on the surface with no exceptions? How the hell am I supposed to do my job? I can't fight people or monsters without using my spears!"

"U-Undyne, I'm sure this is just t-temporary until everyone comes up with a law on how magic should be h-handled," Alphys stuttered, attempting to placate her angry girlfriend. "It's not t-that bad-"

"Not that bad? Well, what about that damn article you showed me yesterday?!" Undyne growled. "Not only are humans pushing against the presence of us monsters but Frisk is also being-"

Alphys started making frantic motions, waving a hand in front of her throat while Sans glowered at her from over Frisk's head and noisily cleared his throat. Undyne turned to glance at him, annoyed "What-" she paused, seeing something in Sans' grim expression, and after a moment she turned to re-assess the situation in the room.

"-Frisk will be having trouble with this law too, as the ambassador," Undyne clumsily finished, shooting a melting glance in Sans' direction.

Frisk frowned, looking back at Sans to see if he had done anything. Sans gazed back, expression nonchalant. (Is there something about me that I need to know about?) Frisk signed warily, picking up on the tense atmosphere in the room.

"U-Um... N-No, you're f-fine Frisk," Alphys stammered. She pulled out her phone and started to quickly type, probably updating her status on social media.

Frisk's eyes narrowed and they pouted, turning to look back at Sans. (Sans…?)

"really, undyne?" Sans grumbled, avoiding Frisk's inquiring gaze. Oh well. It seemed like that plan was going to have to be scrapped early on. The kid was smarter than most people usually gave them credit for anyways. "you just had to go and do that, huh?"

Undyne's eyes narrowed and she twitched, stepping back for a moment. "Well! I was angry! It can't be helped with all the shit I've had to put up with in the last forty-eight hours!"

"look, pal, i haven't exactly had it easy either," Sans grumbled, waving the cereal box at Undyne. "what do you think i was doing-"

"G-Guys-"

" _just_ last night might i add while you were probably asleep at home? you can't lay this on me, it was inevitable! of course the humans react like this, what do you expect me to do about it-"

"GUYS!" Alphys yelled, pushing between the two. "I get that we're kind of tense right now but y-you have to stop this, okay? Look. Y-You're… you're scaring Frisk."

All three monster's head swiveled back towards Frisk, who flinched, stepping back and fiddling with the hem of their shirt. (Um…) They ducked their head, staring at the ground. (What was Undyne talking about before? Did something happen I don't know about?)

Sans turned, stepping towards them and placing a hand on their shoulder. "look... kiddo," he started, white pupils flickering. "i wanted to have this conversation a bit later, but maybe we should just go ahead and tell you."

(Tell me what? Sans?) Frisk's eyes shifted to Undyne and Alphys, who both guiltily looked away. Frisk felt like they were falling as sweat beaded on their temple and their breath caught in their chest. (Did something bad happen? Is everyone okay? Was someone hurt?)

"nah, nothing bad like that happened. it's just- welp. i- erm, tori and i- made the decision this morning to have you transfer into a new school," Sans gently said, setting the cereal back down onto the counter.

(What? No! I like my school! Why should I have to transfer? What did I do wrong?) Frisk argued, hands moving so fast they were almost a blur. (That's not fair, Sans! You guys didn't ask me what I wanted first! You can't just agree without me getting a say in this!)

"i know, kid. i know." Sans shrugged. "but this isn't about what you _did_ so much. it's just… you're human, frisk. and yet you've only interacted with monsters ever since you fell down mt. ebott. it's... ugh. come on, kiddo, you know i suck at these kind of talks. it's an experience, yeah?"

"Yeah! You can go show all those nerds how cool you are!" Undyne urged, flexing dramatically. "It'll be a walk in the park for you! After all, you beat me, you know? This should be easy in comparison!"

(I… I don't know…) Frisk fidgeted, uncomfortable.

Alphys stepped over, leaning over a little bit to get her face level with Frisk's. "I-It'll be okay, F-Frisk. W-We're working for y-your best interests, I p-promise."

Frisk hesitated again. They could tell there was still something not being said, but maybe it was best not to pry. They stared at their feet, glumly wondering if any human kids understood standard sign language, never mind Wing Dings, which actually used an entirely different type of motions. After a moment of inner debate, they stiffly nodded.

Sans sighed in relief, awkwardly rubbing his head. "heh. knew you'd get it, kiddo. thanks." Sans eyed Undyne again before he grinned and motioned at the door. "so. now that that unneeded drama is over, i do believe we promised the kid a trip to the amusement park."

"W-Wait," Alphys cut in, pulling out a screen from her jacket's pocket. "First I want to check F-Frisk's SOUL, like you a-asked me to. Is that okay, Frisk?"

(Yeah. Go ahead.)

"O-Okay. Just stay still for m-me, this won't h-hurt." Alphys held the screen up to Frisk's chest, turning it on with a beep. "This l-lets me see your SOUL without activating it by battle, and shows more than it's n-normal presence anyways."

Sans leaned over her shoulder, studying the screen as something appeared. "HP twenty, LV one, huh?" He glanced up and winked at Frisk. "hmm. other than being ab _soul_ utley determined, you seem fine, frisk. right alph?"

"Yup! N-Nothing _seems_ off," Alphys agreed hesitantly. "B-But if you're worried about it, I can go through my notes for the r-research on human SOULS…"

(Okay. Thanks Alphys!) Frisk signed, stepping aside as Alphys shut down and stored the SOUL reading device. (Can we go now? I want to ride the ferris wheel at sunset!)

"At sunset? Why wait that long! We can go ride it now! We'll ride it so many times, you'll be shocked!" Undyne promised, grabbing Frisk and hoisting the child up onto her shoulders. "Now come on, punk! I challenge you to a- what was that weird human food that acts just like monster food and vanishes before you swallow it? Cotton Candy? Whoever barfs first while eating as much as possible is the loser!"

Undyne leaped out through the slightly dented wall, racing down the lawn towards her silver car which was parked out front. (Wait, Undyne, we aren't going in your car are we-)

"You bet we are!"

(Uh oh.)

"Huh? You got a problem with my driving, punk?" Undyne joked, and Frisk blanched, clinging tightly to her neck as she raced towards the car.

(Maybe a little bit…?) They signed sheepishly.

"How dare you! I'm a great driver!"

(You've crashed three times already….)

"Hey! Those stupid things all got in my way! Not my fault!"

Frisk sighed, smiling despite themself. (Uh huhhh.)

.

Sans looked back at Alphys and shrugged, following the two down to the car as Undyne and Frisk started arguing light heartedly.

"S-Sans…?" Alphys asked hesitantly, following him while she rubbed her hands together nervously.

"that's my name," Sans replied. "what's up now?"

"I… do you really think this'll work? Suddenly putting Frisk in a h-human school doesn't s-sound like a perfect f-fix," Alphys murmured.

Sans turned and glanced at Alphys from the corner of his eye. "nah, but it'll get the press off of our backs a bit until tori can get the proper papers and for me to pull a few strings behind the scenes. don't worry 'bout it, alph. i won't let anything bad happen to the kid."

Alphys watched as Sans waved and hopped into the back of the car, Frisk scooting to the side to make room for him. The scientist fidgeted and sighed. "I s-sure hope so…" she murmured before turning and following the other monsters just as Undyne grinned and waved at her to come get in.

.

The day was hot, the sun shining down on the crowded amusement park as the crowds surged through the gates. Frisk was once again placed on Undyne's shoulders, and the four made quite the conspicuous group as they wandered through the lines.

"That one!" Undyne decided, jerking her head at the largest roller coaster the park had. "The rest of the rides are too boring! We have to try riding that one first, right? Go full blast from the start!"

"U-Undyne I don't know... " Alphys shot a terrified glance at Sans, who shrugged.

(Let's go then!) Frisk urged, waving their hands in the air. (Quick, before there's a line!)

"W-wait, I don't-" Alphys stuttered, but Undyne grinned, flashing sharp teeth knowingly at her before leaning down and kissing her on the lips.

"Aw, come on Alphys. You wouldn't let me and Frisk go alone, would you? You're way cooler than that! I bet the people in your cartoons would do it!" Undyne prodded, Alphys slowly turning a crimson shade as she buried her face in her hands before nodding.

Frisk giggled, used to the two's theatrics after they started dating three months ago, keeping up as Undyne and Alphys started to go get in line for the rollercoaster. The ride's name was Barf Mountain, so Frisk had their doubts, but they thought it would probably be fine since a roller coaster couldn't be worse than fighting Omega Flowey or Undyne. And it definably couldn't be worse than fighting Sans...

Speaking of, Frisk suddenly noticed Sans wasn't following them. (Sans? Aren't you coming?)

"heh. um, not this round, kiddo. i'll just wait here for you guys," Sans said, waving his hand. "i'd probably just fall asleep on the ride anyways."

(Please?) Frisk signed hesitantly. (I mean- if you really don't want to then I guess-)

Sans surveyed the hesitant kid for a moment before he grinned and sauntered over. "fine, fine, i get the drift. how much you wanna bet i can make ten puns before the ride's over?"

Frisk grinned, hand reaching out to take Sans'. (You're on,) the human child agreed with their other hand, smile radiant.

Sans' grin widened. And although Frisk couldn't always tell exactly what he was thinking, they thought Sans looked pretty darn happy in that moment.

.

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((Heya. Been a while, huh? c:

My apologies. My exams are spaced weirdly- half happen early and then there's two weeks of so much school work (I was up until 2 am most nights trust me I had no free time) before more exams. Oh and I got really sick right before exams, too. Fun stuff.

But now it's summer! Two weeks of freedom before anything takes up my time again. When I get to that point, I'll let you guys know about my schedule and stuff. Some surgery and art school means summer remains hectic!

Anyways. Enjoy the story~))


	7. Chapter 7

In the end, Frisk won the bet. Apparently Sans had gotten so used to going to sleep whenever Papyrus picked him up, he was out like a light the instant the roller coaster started moving, loop-de-loops and all. Frisk's prize was a triple-scoop of chocolate ice cream, with Undyne and Alphys splitting a cake batter ice cream while they waited for the sun to finally set after the long, hectic day.

"We should go now," Alphys judged, studying the horizon and stuffing the last spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. "I-If we get on in three minutes we'll be at the very top of the rotation when the sun sets."

"Well, what are you punks waiting for then?! Let's go!" Undyne bellowed, jumping up from the bench.

Frisk tossed the remnants of their ice cream, dashing forwards excitedly and overtaking Undyne as the blue monster raced towards the attraction. Arriving first, they bounced in place impatiently in the line, the monsters following Frisk to stand and wait for a seat. It was several moments, but finally the four got a small compartment and sat down, Alphys and Undyne facing Frisk and Sans in a small glass compartment.

The ferris wheel lurched to a start, the ground slowly dropping away from the group's feet in the vehicle. Undyne, startled, pressed her face against the glass, eyes sparkling. "Whoah!" She enthused, tugging at Alphys. "Look at this, Alphys! This is almost as good a view as we saw when we first left Mt. Ebott! Look at all those punks down there, they look like ants!"

Frisk grinned, turning to watch as the sun sank lower, creeping towards the horizon. Vibrant shades of violet, pink, and orange bled across the sky, a messy watercolor painting for the world to see.

"whoah kid," Sans breathed. "good call."

The ferris wheel suddenly lurched to a stop, Frisk glancing down to see the people walking around on the ground far below. They glanced around, surprised to see the wheel had paused when they had barely reached the top and the sunset reached its full glory.

They could see, over the treetops, the city in the dim light. Lights in houses, cars traveling between the buildings, people going about their daily lives. People just trying to get through the day. The sun glowed pink for a moment longer, Alphys snapping a picture of it with her phone, before it finished sinking below the horizon.

"heh," Sans breathed, shifting as Frisk laid their head against his shoulder. "too bad paps was busy. he would've loved this." He waited for the kid to reply, but there was only silence as the ferris wheel kept turning on into the night. He looked down, raising an eyebrow and grinning as he looked back up across to Alphys and Undyne.

"shhh," he said, holding his free hand in front of his teeth. "they must be trying to catch some sleep. it must have gotten away from them last night, huh?"

.

Gaster watched on the cameras as Chara turned and slipped off, Flowey glaring after them.

He had warned the flower, he supposed. But there was very little he could do to dissuade the King's other child from misbehaving. It was unfortunate that he was here to deal with anomalies; as of late, 'dealing with anomalies' and 'babysitting' seemed to be too close for his liking. What a conundrum.

Gaster pulled up the Code, studying the numbers with narrowed eyes as he checked for the zeroes which indicated a RESET. Nothing. It was highly likely that he would retain memory of any RESETS, but he could never be too careful. Although, he wouldn't have to be double checking data like that if he could simply use Frisk to-

No. That was not the solution. Gaster cut himself off from that line of theorizing, rubbing his face with one of his hands as he turned away from the video's image. Remaining in the Underground with boredom as the main companion was apparently not only dangerous to the King's children, but to Gaster as well. Was he becoming compromised? It couldn't be. It was a mere three months since he had been contained here. Gaster wouldn't loose the fortitude of his his mind so quickly.

And yet. How had it gone for Gaster originally, before Sans and Frisk intervened? Gaster wanted to know. He wanted to know so badly. Had he found the Code before or after he mentally gave into the darkness? How long had he lasted? He could look, if he wanted. Gaster had the power to see all possible timelines, past, present, and future. But that was risky; gazing too closely at what Gaster had become was an invitation to speed up his own loss of control. When one gazes into the void, the void gazes back.

Was Gaster's desire for knowledge worth that risk? Would knowing help anything other than Gaster's own satisfaction? Chances were high that it would not. If Gaster was as intelligent as he believed, he wouldn't tempt this hypothetical situation. He should focus on protecting this reality instead.

But Gaster was a scientist, and scientists did whatever it took to obtain knowledge. So, against Gaster's better judgment, he opened the Code again. He turned his gaze into the void…

And the void gazed back.

.

Frisk blinked, studying the ceiling. It was a Monday, they dimly recalled, sitting up and scratching their head. Sans must have dropped them off at Toriel's house when they had fallen asleep. What time was it? The sun wasn't up yet, but it was unusual that Frisk had woken up on their own this early. They quickly got dressed, pulling on their ambassador sweater and a pair of shorts. The scent of eggs and bacon was wafting through the air, and Frisk hurried to the kitchen.

Toriel was standing with her back to them, humming as she cooked with her fire magic. Why she cooked with her own magic, when she had even bought a new human stove just last month, Frisk would never know.

The floorboards creaked under Frisk's weight and Toriel glanced back, expression lighting up as soon as she spotted the human. "Good morning, my child," she greeted them. "I trust you slept well?"

(Yes,) Frisk agreed. They scratched their head and silently giggled. (Did Sans have to carry me home again?)

"Oh no, Undyne helped him," Toriel laughed, patting Frisk on the head. "He said you had gotten so good at sleeping you were able to do it with both of your eyes closed!"

Frisk laughed. (That does sound like him,) they agreed, slipping into one their seat around the table.

Toriel chuckled again, checking the clock. "We have to leave earlier today, I'm afraid," she told Frisk, placing a plate of food in front of them. "It's a good thing you woke up early, as I have to drop you off at your new school before heading to mine today."

Seeing Frisk's expression fall, Toriel frowned. "Oh, dear! Sans did tell you, right?"

Frisk nodded. (Well- yes, but this soon?)

"No time like the present," Toriel told them gently. "I'm sure you'll be fine. You'll make a lot of new friends."

(But I can't talk! What do I do, carry a pad of paper around to talk to everyone with?) Frisk protested.

Toriel crossed her arms, giving them a stern stare. "Frisk Dreemurr, I know for a fact that you will get through this. We're talking about you, the child that left me in the Ruins to unite the entire Underground and free all monsters, accomplishing something monsters couldn't accomplish during centuries of trying in a single day. Don't look at me and tell me you can't survive a school," her gaze softened, and she gently smiled. "I'm sure you'll be very popular among your classmates."

(...) Frisk pouted, spooning the breakfast into their mouth. The magic food tickled as it vanished, Frisk's body immediately absorbing the nutrients. (Maybe.)

"That's my child. Now, come on, we can't have you be late on your first day!" Toriel hummed, grabbing her keys.

Frisk placed the dish in the sink and grabbed their backpack, hurrying after their mother. They strapped into the passenger's seat and tapped their fingers as they stared out the window, the sun barely in the sky as the scenery sped past. The shopping areas and wealthier suburbs whirled past, and Frisk blinked in surprise.

(Isn't this right around where Sans works during the day?) They signed curiously, seeing the sign "Nice Burgers- OPEN" fly past just as the car started to slow down for a few more blocks.

"Why, yes!" Toriel said cheerfully. "Sans might actually pick you up for school most mornings now since it's within walking distance. We thought we'd pick a school were someone could still get you if you needed anything."

(Oh,) Frisk blinked, ducking their head. (Thank you. That makes me happy.)

"I'm glad we chose it then, my child." Toriel slowed the car to a crawl, coming to a halt. "Well, we're here. I didn't know humans started school a month before summer ended, unlike the year-round monster schools, so I know this start might feel sudden but it really is a good moment for you to enter this school! You can come visit your friends in my class at other times, Frisk."

(Okay. Have a nice day, mom.) Frisk tried to smile, but it ended up being a nervous grimace before they turned and headed for the front office, hoping that this day wouldn't be as bad as they suspected it might be.

.

"This is Frisk, new to our school," the teacher said, a tall man with black hair and narrow eyes. He had a soft smile though, so Frisk thought he seemed nice enough. "They weren't here for introduction day due to bit of a late scheduling, but I trust all of you will be welcoming and show them around. Also, their… guardian told me they can't speak, so please be patient with them."

There was giggling and whispers from the right corner of the class, and a girl with bright red hair muttered loudly. " _Isn't that the kid always on TV with the monsters?"_

"Robin," the teacher, Mr. Greene, asked sternly. "Do you have something to share with the class?"

"No sir!" The girl immediately said, flushing an unhappy shade of pink.

Frisk shifted in place, uncomfortable, and Mr. Greene nodded. "Right then. Frisk, you can sit next to Emily? She's on the left. Emily, please wave."

Emily, a dark-skinned girl with pigtails, enthusiastically waved both hands at Frisk, grinning at them shyly. Frisk picked their way between the desks, avoiding the other children's feet and books before sitting down.

"Hi!" Emily whispered eagerly, leaning over. "Hey, do you like the color red? Red's my favorite!"

Frisk blinked once, then, under the child's curious gaze, opened their backpack and pulled out a piece of paper.

 _Yes. I do like the color red._

"Oh wow, really?! I think we'll get along just fine then! I have some red crayons with me, if you want some!" Emily noisily whispered, eyes shining. She started to rummage through her bag, but Mr. Greene cleared his throat.

"Thank you Emily, but we do need to get class started. Now, this year we're going to be starting on ancient histories…"

Frisk leaned back, starting to copy down notes as Mr. Greene started the lesson on Greek mythology. They snuck a glance to their right, and Emily giggled and held up a picture. Was that- Frisk? In red crayon? They couldn't help but grin back at her, her enthusiasm contagious.

Maybe human school wouldn't be that bad after all.

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((There's not too long until the daily life arc ends~!  
By that I mean the plot kicks up and we take off. Expect some major events starting to landslide in the next few chapters, hehehe. Finally.

Over and Over, by the way, had two arcs in my mind- the Chara and the Gaster arcs. So far, I have three arcs planned for By and By, but they might vary in length so it doesn't mean too much.

Thanks for reading~))


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